Clackamas County's Pedestrian and Bikeway Advisory Committee will take up TriMet's recent service cuts and the agency's $350 million 82nd Avenue Transit Project at a public meeting Sept. 1, giving Lake Oswego and Stafford commuters who lost bus routes Aug. 23 a chance to weigh in.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. with public comment, according to the county's posted agenda.

TriMet's sweeping service changes took effect Sunday, Aug. 23, according to the Lake Oswego Review, eliminating Line 153 (Stafford/Salamo) outright and combining Line 37 (Lake Grove) into a restructured Line 96 on Boones Ferry Road that runs only during commute hours.

Line 38 (Boones Ferry Road) was also folded into a new Line 97 running between Sherwood and Barbur Transit Center. The changes are the largest since April 2020, when the agency temporarily reduced service 20% at the start of the pandemic.

County planner Mya Ganzer and senior planner Scott Hoelscher will lead the service-cuts discussion at 7:35 p.m. The agenda does not specify whether TriMet staff will attend for that item.

TriMet faces a $158 million budget gap and has said it must reduce service levels by at least 10% by July 2028 to align spending with revenue. The agency plans community outreach this fall on additional cuts proposed for 2027.

"We don't believe we can cut ourselves out of this financial crisis," TriMet spokeswoman Tia York told Willamette Week on Aug. 21. "We're leaving no stone unturned."

The meeting's other major item is a TriMet presentation on the 82nd Avenue Transit Project, scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The project would convert Line 72, the busiest bus route in Oregon with nearly 66,000 weekly rides, into a bus rapid transit line running between Clackamas Town Center and Northeast Portland's Cully neighborhood.

The project is targeting a 2029 opening but depends on $150 million in federal funding that has not been awarded.

Hoelscher will also continue a discussion of the county's new e-bike ordinance at 6:55 p.m. The committee first took up the ordinance at its Aug. 6 meeting.

The PBAC meeting is open to the public. Residents can offer comment at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 8 p.m. Ganzer can be reached at 503-742-4520 and Hoelscher at 503-742-4533.